Aakar Patel, an alleged ‘journalist’ and human-rights activist has been dealt a severe blow by microblogging site Twitter, after his account was restricted in India due to legal demands from various quarters, including those from ‘authorities’, seeking to restrain the man from using the platform to peddle his vile agenda. Aakar Patel is the former chief of Amnesty India International, whose credentials as a biased anti-India organization need no introduction.
The action by Twitter comes a week after an FIR was filed against Patel by Bengaluru Police for attempting to instigate a section of people against the government and the country. Referring to the protests across the United States following the death of George Floyd in police custody, Patel on May 31 had tweeted, “We need protests like these from Dalits, Muslims, Adivasis, poor and women (in India). World will notice. Protest is a craft.”
Hate monger Aakar Patel's account witheld because he was trying to incite riots.
Twitter didn't suspend his account for such hate tweets, just restricted in India. pic.twitter.com/roSTockfgb
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) June 11, 2020
The FIR was registered at the JC Nagar Police Station in Bengaluru under Sections, 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 117 (Abetting commission of the offence by the public or by more than ten persons) and 505 (1)B of the IPC, which deals with statements with intent to cause mischief, or likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offense against the State or against the public tranquillity.
Although Twitter has restricted the account of former Amnesty India executive director within the country, his handle remains visible to those in other nations across the world. “Following the Indian legal process, we are in current communication with the Indian authorities who issued this legal demand in which your account was included. We will notify you if there are any changes to the status of your account,” Twitter said in an email to Patel.
This is not the first time that Aakar Patel has overestimated his capabilities to get away after saying just about anything in India. In November last year, Patel had compared the Supreme Court of India to that of Pakistan’s in 1954 when the then Governor General, Ghulam Muhammad had unlawfully dismissed the Pakistan Constituent Assembly with the backing of the nation’s apex court. Basically, the man was phenomenally hurt with the historic verdict passed by India’s Supreme Court in favour of Hindus, and would rather want to see a Masjid being illegally erected at the site once again. After the terrorist attack on Amarnath Yatris in 2017, the same Patel had warned of “reprisal attacks” on civilians by the government.
As for his May 31 tweet calling for violent protests in India, much like those being seen in the US, who would such protests be directed against? Hindus, obviously, since they do not find a mention in his tweet. Even the actual minorities like Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs are not mentioned by Aakar Patel in the tweet. As such, it is only natural for us to believe that Patel is enthusiastic about instigating riots across India, where those sections of society mentioned in his tweet will clash against the government and other sections which have not been mentioned by him.
What has come as a pleasant surprise, however, is Twitter India’s willingness to restrict his account in India. While Twitter’s own biases are aplenty, we would have definitely not expected the microblogging site to give a free platform to those wanting to instigate a civil war in India. As of now, Twitter has proven that some sanity still prevails among its executives, along with a fear of Indian law, of course.
